Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Herons in Summer
Alternate Title(s):Egrets in Summer
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1941
Dimensions:
82 × 156 7/8 in. (208.3 × 398.5 cm)
Collection of MetLife, New York
Accession number: SUPP2000.441
Research Number: NCW: 441
ProvenanceCommissioned from NCW by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Exhibition HistoryNew York, NY, 1985, no. 9, as "Egrets in Summer"
References
"The Days of the Pilgrims Live Again in Our Murals," The Home Office (publication of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.), vol. 23, no. 7 (Dec. 1941, ps. 8-9); N. C. Wyeth, Income Tax Notes for 1941 (unpublished, Brandywine River Museum Library); Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), ps. 169-172, b/w illustration p. 171; Peggy Robbins, "The Magic of N. C. Wyeth," South Carolina Wildlife, (Jan.-Feb. 1979), b/w illustration p. 16; Kate F. Jennings, N. C. Wyeth (New York: Brompton Books Corp., Crescent Books, 1992), color illustration ps. 80-81; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), M.71, p. 631; Jessica May, "Horizons Transformed," in Jessica May and Christine B. Podmaniczky, "N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives" (Brandywine River Museum of Art and Portland Museum of Art, 2019), p. 96, fig. 2
Curatorial RemarksThis mural decorated an escalator landing. "The constantly moving throng by these spaces, the lifting approach on the escalator demanded something quite simple and yet with pleasing and complimentary motion. The notion embracing the spirit of flight struck me. I saw it in terms of birds, well known and romantic American birds. The sketches are still in a somewhat realistic state but my plan is to translate them in the final painting into flatter designs like patterns on a screen yet with a definite sense of naturalism" (undated draft of a letter, NCW to Arthur O. Angilly, Brandywine River Museum library, "I'm sorry, but I was under the definite impression...," which refers to "Herons in Summer").
The Brandywine River Museum (library, N. C. Wyeth archives) holds three photographs of this painting taken in Wyeth's studio, variously stamped on the reverse by Chadds Ford photographer Edward J. S. Seal, "JUL 2-1941," "JUL 9-1941," and "AUG 5 1941." Another print, stamped "JUL 26 1941" is in the Edward J. S. Seal collection given by Barbara Lloyd (39309.7). The Museum collection also includes extensive correspondence between the artist and the architect Arthur O. Angilly which touches on all phases of the commission. See NCW 1448, a drawing for the composition that has been ruled and numbered for transfer.
In the mid-1980s, the MetLife murals were removed from the walls of their original location at One Madison Avenue, New York, and placed on strainers. By 2009, this mural had been removed to MetLife's new corporate headquarters on Bryant Park.
The Brandywine River Museum (library, N. C. Wyeth archives) holds three photographs of this painting taken in Wyeth's studio, variously stamped on the reverse by Chadds Ford photographer Edward J. S. Seal, "JUL 2-1941," "JUL 9-1941," and "AUG 5 1941." Another print, stamped "JUL 26 1941" is in the Edward J. S. Seal collection given by Barbara Lloyd (39309.7). The Museum collection also includes extensive correspondence between the artist and the architect Arthur O. Angilly which touches on all phases of the commission. See NCW 1448, a drawing for the composition that has been ruled and numbered for transfer.
In the mid-1980s, the MetLife murals were removed from the walls of their original location at One Madison Avenue, New York, and placed on strainers. By 2009, this mural had been removed to MetLife's new corporate headquarters on Bryant Park.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Photo by: Malcolm Varon, NYC, copyright © 2007